Regera

KOENIGSEGG DIRECT DRIVE
Traditional hybrids represent a compromise when it comes to weight, complexity, cost, packaging and efficiency.

The Regera is not what we at Koenigsegg would call a traditional hybrid as it does not have the traditional shortcomings of a hybrid. Instead, the Regera is a new breed of hybrid. It is a new breed of Koenigsegg and a new breed of car, for that matter.

Traditional ‘parallel’ hybrids are compromised and heavy as they have two independent propulsion systems moving the car. While ‘series’ hybrids are less compromised when it comes to weight, complexity and costs, they are compromised when it comes to efficiency as there is too much energy conversion taking place.

The Koenigsegg Direct Drive transmission (KDD) was invented by Christian von Koenigsegg and developed for the Regera by the Koenigsegg Advanced Engineering team.

The patent-pending KDD replaces the combustion engine’s traditional transmission – the gearbox as you know it is removed from the car. In its place, the KDD provides direct drive to the rear axle from the combustion engine without the need of multitude gears or a variable transmissions, all of which have inherently high energy losses.

During highway travel, for example, the KDD reduces drivetrain losses compared to a traditional transmission or CVT by over 50% as there is no step up or step down gear working in series with the final drive – just direct power sent from the engine to the wheels.

The Regera has three YASA developed electric motors, which supplement the energy from the combustion engine. Aside from providing extreme responsiveness, these electric motors also allow for torque vectoring, regenerative braking and energy conversion. YASA´s axial flux motors are extremely power dense, making them a key-ingredient for the KDD. There is one YASA motor for each rear wheel, providing electric direct drive, and one on the crankshaft that provides torque-fill, electrical generation and starter motor functionality.

The three electric motors constitute the most powerful electrical motor set-up in production car history, replacing the gears of a normal transmission. This provides all-important weight savings as well as adding power, torque and torque vectoring capability.

Koenigsegg has developed a clutch-slip mechanism that uses the hydraulic coupling to convert torque at medium/high speeds during fast acceleration. This allows the combustion engine to gain revs and power, thereby giving the sensation of a traditional downshift with the associated aural enjoyment, even without the traditional gearbox.

Shift paddles remain on either side of the steering wheel. The left paddle is used to enhance regenerative braking effect in recharging the battery pack. The right paddle is used to activate the hydraulic coupling’s ‘downshift’ operation.

Koenigsegg has worked extremely hard to find the best performing, and safest battery possible for the Regera. This research and testing has resulted in an 800 volt, 4.5kWh battery pack, making the Regera the world’s first 800V production car.

This extreme battery technology will now provide an amazing 525kW of discharge and up to 200kW of recharge. The only batteries in any form of automotive use that provide comparative performance for their size are those found in Formula 1 race cars.

The Koenigsegg Regera battery pack also boasts the highest cooling capacity of any battery in automotive use today. All electric vehicle manufacturers use coolant piped around the battery pack to draw heat from the batteries. There is always an area that traditional cooling pipes cannot reach, however. The Regera battery pack is housed in a sealed unit featuring optimized local coolant flooding across all critical heat-sensitive elements. Every critical surface within and around the battery stack is cooled as efficiently as possible.

Finally, there is the battery pack’s weight. Through research and investment in premium battery technology, the production version of the Regera will ship with a battery pack that not only performs better, but weighs just 75kgs, a saving of 40kgs over the concept battery.

Every cell of the pack is carefully monitored for voltage, state of charge, health and temperature. The cells are enclosed in a carbon fibre casing for efficiency, safety and stability. The battery is located in the most protected area of the car – the carbon-aramid chassis tunnel.

To put the revolutionary nature of the Regera into proper perspective, it has almost triple as many electric horsepower (700hp) than its closest hybrid rival, with over 300hp more in total horsepower. And yet the Regera remains at a very competitive weight, while still including features such as a six way adjustable electrical seat and a fully robotized body work.